He's Misstra Know-It-All
| "He's Misstra Know-It-All" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Stevie Wonder | ||||
| from the album Innervisions | ||||
| B-side | "You Can't Judge a Book by Its Cover" | |||
| Released | April 1974 | |||
| Recorded | April 5-8, 1973 | |||
| Studio |
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| Genre | Soul, pop[1] | |||
| Length | 3:25 (single version) 5:38 (album version) | |||
| Label | Tamla | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Stevie Wonder | |||
| Producer(s) |
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| Stevie Wonder singles chronology | ||||
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| Official audio | ||||
| He's Misstra Know-It-All (album version) on YouTube | ||||
"He's Misstra Know-It-All" is a single by Stevie Wonder for the Tamla (Motown) label, from his Innervisions album, which reached number 10 on the UK Singles Chart in April 1974.[2] The song takes the form of a mellow ballad with a steady beat, principally a solo performance with Wonder providing lead vocal, background vocal, piano, drums, handclaps and congas.[3] Horn sounds are played on the Moog synthesizer that is programmed by Malcolm Cecil and Robert Margouleff.[4] Ethereal flute-like sounds are provided by the TONTO modular synthesizer that is also programmed by Cecil and Margouleff. Willie Weeks, on electric bass, is the only other musician.[3] Towards the end of the song the mood changes to a stronger feel, more strident singing and with hand-claps emphasising the beat, half-beat and quarter-beat.
"He's Misstra Know-It-All" was re-released in 1977 in both the UK and US as the B-side to "Sir Duke".
The song is essentially a long description of a know-it-all confidence trickster character who is a "man with a plan", who has a slick answer to all his critics and who has "a counterfeit dollar in his hand". It has been alleged that this is a reference to United States' President Richard Nixon, who resigned the same year the song was released.[5][6][7]
Recording
[edit]The song was started and completed in a matter of three days. Piano, drums and lead vocals were recorded on April 5, 1973. Harp[clarification needed] and background vocals were recorded on April 6. Synthesizer overdubs and mixing took place on April 8.[4]
Track listing
[edit]A. "He's Misstra Know-It-All" – 3:25 (Stevie Wonder)
B. "You Can't Judge a Book by Its Cover" – 2:32[8] (Wonder, Henry Cosby, Sylvia Moy)[9]
Personnel
[edit]Information is based on the album’s liner notes[3]
- Stevie Wonder – lead vocal, background vocal, piano, drums, handclaps, congas
- Malcolm Cecil - TONTO synthesizer programming
- Robert Margouleff - TONTO synthesizer programming
- Willie Weeks – electric bass
References
[edit]- ^ McFerrin, John. "Stevie Wonder- Innervisions". johnmcferrinmusicreviews.org. Archived from the original on July 2, 2020. Retrieved September 22, 2018.
- ^ "Official Charts Company - Stevie Wonder". Official UK Charts. July 23, 2012. Archived from the original on January 27, 2021. Retrieved April 3, 2023.
- ^ a b c Wonder, Stevie. Innervisions (Liner Notes). Tamla Motown. 1973.
- ^ a b Williams, Chris (July 15, 2021). "Expanding Soul". wax-poetics. Retrieved December 8, 2024. Originally published in Digital Content, August 7, 2013.
- ^ Chappell, Arthur (January 10, 2014), "The Story In The Song - Stevie Wonder - He's Misstra Know It All", Bubblews. Archived April 22, 2015, at archive.today.
- ^ Frick, Daniel E. (2008), "Bibliography", Reinventing Richard Nixon: A Cultural History of an American Obsession, University Press of Kansas, p. 303; ISBN 9780700615995.
- ^ Lynskey, Dorian (May 4, 2007). "Readers recommend: Songs about politicians". The Guardian.
- ^ "Stevie Wonder – He's Misstra Know It All", discogs.com.
- ^ "Stevie Wonder – He's Misstra Know It All" Archived December 5, 2014, at the Wayback Machine at Discogs.
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